Marketing and Sales Blogs

How Strategic Account Management Can Amplify Your Efforts

Feb 25 2019

Marketing and Sales

Selling to existing accounts is one of the biggest untapped opportunities for sales professionals. In fact, developing long-term relationships with important customers can help optimize value and achieve mutually beneficial goals.

But how can you develop these long-term relationships? The answer: Strategic Account Management (SAM).

The importance of SAM in your organization

SAM helps you maintain important relationships by helping you align your solutions with your clients’ own goals, challenges and initiatives. By analyzing key information about your customers, their competitive landscape, and their industry you will be able to identify opportunities and create solutions that your strategic accounts will value.

How can strategic accounts drive sales?

Establishing strategic accounts and treating them as such, is a crucial component of any sales strategy—as selling to an existing account is much more profitable and predictable than seeking to win over new business. Also, these long term contacts are typically more receptive to exploring proposals for new products, services, and solutions.

Which accounts are your key accounts?

Start by identifying the clients who contribute a significant amount of revenue to your company. How much would you be worried if you were to lose one of these accounts? A lot? Then this client can be qualified as a key account.

How to grow your accounts

1. Understand who your clients are. Taking the time to know your clients will allow you to tailor your services to suit their needs better.

2. Be proactive. Check in with your key accounts to ensure they are satisfied with your product/service.

3. Be reliable. Maintain realistic goals that correspond with those of your key accounts.

4. Provide individual service. Adapt your strategy to the needs of each account and customize your plans of action accordingly.

Managing a strategic account is like running a business within your business. So make sure you identify your accounts’ potential and you know what to do to grow these valuable assets.

George R. Khayat

Partner

Mr. George Khayat is a partner with Meirc Training & Consulting. He holds a bachelor of science in management from the Lebanese American University, a master in marketing and communication from ESCP-EAP University in France, and is currently completing a master of science in management from St. Joseph University in Beirut. George is a certified marketing analyst (The Graduate Board of Management, USA), a chartered marketer (Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK), a certified Lego® Serious Play® method facilitator, and a certified sales professional (Sales Training International, USA). He is also certified in Action Selling® (USA) and Guerrilla Marketing (Australia).